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That was quick. Good to be moving up a level at last though. I must admit that just before a playoff (if you hadn't played tem yet) wouldn't be a time when I personally would accept any offer to go elsewhere.

After finishing in 3rd place and thus qualifying for the play-off's, I was relatively optimistic having won in both of my previous play-off experiences in this save game. Unfortunately we got absolutely wankered by East Stirlingshire and lost 6-0, all the goals coming in the home leg - it was a shockingly bad performance. From a financial stand point we had a fantastic year, with the finances being majorly boosted thanks to drawing Celtic away in the League Cup 2nd Round, whilst like against East Stirlingshire in the play-off's we did get completely wankered, we gained about 300K from this game so cannot complain at all. Also reached the 4th Round of the Scottish Cup, going out to Hibs which didn't get as anywhere near as much money as the Celtic game did. Overall the squad was decent and key players included - Peter Beard, David Conway, Jay Finch, Richard Allen and Karl Sheppard. Overall a pretty decent first season, would've been nice to have been promoted but i'm sure with the significant financial gain from the Celtic game it should be easier to get promoted next season. If an 'F' club does come in for me I will take it, but the likelihood of randomly being offered a job at an 'F' club is pretty unlikely so it's looking like at least another season at East Fife for me.

After the disappointment of losing in the play-off's last season I was keen on winning the league out-right, this was further motivated by the fact we were the bookies favourites to win the league. It was decided on the last day of the season, but as you've seen in my last post, we did win the league. As you can see from the past positions, we spent the large majority of the latter half of the season floating between second and third place. After going top with 2 games left I was hoping to secure the league in the penultimate game of the season, we cocked up by losing and actually went back to third place, but thanks to Spurs-like bottling from the two teams above us, we managed to claw it back and win the league with our win on the last day. The squad had a good amount of depth and was always going to be good enough to challenge for promotion. All of our transfers were freebies or loans despite our sound financial situation, which was boosted by a further 100K after French businessman Donald Rousseaux made a consortium takeover mid-way through the season. It was a disappointing year as far as the League Cup was concerned, losing out in the 1st round via penalties to Partick Thistle. The Scottish Cup wasn't much better, after a replay away from home we were knocked out in the 3rd round by Alloa. Our key players for the season included: The first choice goalkeeper Chris Davies, on loan striker David Kerr, left winger John Lawless, top scorer Keith Collins, central midfielder Joe McCann, right winger Peter Beard and the other striker Richard Allen. Overall a very successful season for the club. Despite temptations to leave having accomplished a promotion, which I have done before with Bradford PA and Casa Pia, it seems to make sense to stay for another season, my contract runs out in a years time and I could do with the reputation boost that playing in a higher division will give me.

My original plan was to have the April fool as me losing in the play-off's, then to present you with the actual update showing that I had actually won in the play-off's. But losing in the play-off's kind of ruined that plan!

That's true, it's still a massive game considering they're one of the top 5 sides in the country and it's the quarter final of the domestic cup. I'm not expecting any kind of result, although we're in very good form in the league and with the win over Inverness CT, perhaps we could shock Hearts in our own back yard.

In an amazing season that was highlighted by a terrific run in the Scottish Cup, we also managed to secure the 2nd Division title, meaning a historic back-to-back promotion for the club. A real achievement considering in the two seasons before I joined the club, they finished bottom of the 2nd division and then bottom of the third division. The financial benefits of the cup run as well as the league win were massive, the club made over 500K in profit this year which is absolutely fantastic news for both the short and long term stability of East Fife. I continued with my philosophy of wheeling and dealing with free transfers and loans, which ended up being a decent move as our squad was very good, definitely more than capable of pushing for the play-off's and winning the league. A key element is the fact our squad is more English than it is Scottish, I think part of this is because a lot of English players get released in the lower English divisions and are thus available on cheapo freebie deals compared to Scottish players who I'd have to pay a few grand for.

There were a few players that contributed more than most to the team. Simon Clark, on loan striker from Hibernian, was one of these players, scoring 12 and assisting 8. Steven Parker, a versatile player who could play anywhere in the middle of the park, proved to be very good once he was signed. Scott Doig was a key man in the middle of defence. David Conway was an important part of our midfield, providing a few goals and assists as well as having one of the best passing rates in the league at 82 percent. Richard Allen was a rotated striker who ended up being our top scorer, with 14 goals from 15 starts and 14 sub appearances. Overall it was an amazing season, despite being tempting to call it a day at East Fife and end on a high, there's no real jobs available and a lot of 'F' jobs require a higher level of reputation, so it makes sense to stay at East Fife and manage them for one year in the 1st Divison.

Have AC Milan, Benfica and Linfield continued their domestic dominance in their respective countries? Another Italian side win the Champions League, an English side win the Europa League, surprise winners in the Copa America and massive drama in the Premier League as a side managed by Fergie's son win their first title for over 100 years!

Yeah it has been interesting to see the likes of Benfica dominant Portugal and the fact nobody other than Barca/Real have won the Spanish league. Valencia have been runners up 5 times and only missed out on winning it in 2015/16 on goal difference to Barcelona. West Brom's also looking very interesting, the tycoon takeover has finally paid off for them with that league win, can't wait to see if they can win a few more, will definitely be hoping for a chance to manage them when the 'W' letter comes around!

Just over half way through the season and things are going pretty swimmingly in terms of avoiding relegation, the league is quite and a good run of a few wins could see us move up the table significantly. Even promotion isn't out of the picture yet! You fancy sticking a tenner on us deltablue?

In what was to be my first season managing East Fife in the Scottish 1st Division, I stuck with the philosophy of bringing in freebies and loans in the transfer market. Despite the promotion we did make a loss of around 70K this season, but I guess that is expected due to the fact we didn't face one of the Old Firm in a cup this season. A pretty poor showing for us in the cups compared to the last few years, out to Cowdenbeath in the 1st round of the League Cup and Livingston in the 5th round of the Scottish Cup. As you've already seen the league was the primary focus and finishing 5th was a pretty decent finish given it being our first season at this level, and the fact 2nd to 1st is a lot bigger step up than 3rd to 2nd. The squad is decent, but it probably does need significant improvement for a promotion/league win at this level, something that would be quite risky as it would probably cost the club a fair amount in transfers.
The core players this season included on-loan left midfielder Alan Lomas, Irish central defender Gerard Brady, versatile wide player Peter Beard, central defender Scott Doig, central midfielder Ricky Davies, Irish midfielder David Conway, Slovakian striker Tomas Guldan and yet again top scorer Richard Allen. I've enjoyed a relatively successful few years at East Fife, they've already over taken Bradford PA as the club I have spent the most time at, as well as that I have also taken them from the worst team in Scotland to the 1st Division with a Scottish Cup Semi Final day out to Rangers along the way. Have I finally called a day on my time at East Fife and gone looking for an 'F' job? All will be revealed shortly!

Also, for the 15th season will be doing a relatively extensive review of each top flight division as well as looking at what the more well known clubs have been doing. If anyone has any specific requests for a summary of a player or a club then if you post at some point today I'll include them in the summary update.

In this update - The European Championship is retained. An Italian side win the Champions League. Possibly one of the biggest surprise winners in Europa League history. A Manchester side sits on top of the English pyramid once more. Real Madrid slip up in La Liga, did someone other than Barca take advantage? Did AC Milan win a 7th straight title? Was it an 8th straight title for Benfica and Linfield? And could Hibernian surprise everyone and retain the SPL?

Linfield have in-fact been managed by Darren Bent since 2022, with their key previous manager being former Cardiff City and Feyenoord player Glenn Loovens. They were also captained by Paul Dickov in the early 2010's. They've had no success in Europe, never making the Group Stage of either the Champions League or the Europa League.

Shockingly Linfield aren't the richest side in the country, despite being valued at 9.5M, Carrick Rangers who started the save game in the First Division, had a tycoon takeover in 2014, the club instantly turned professional, hired David Dunn and haven't looked back, they've finished in the top 3 every season since 2020, and this end season were only 1 point off Linfield, can Carrick finally break Linfield's streak?

Northern Ireland have been managed by former international Maik Taylor since 2015, when Nigel Worthington retired. They've not really done anything impressive though.

Norway

Norway have had a relatively split amount of title wins, Brann have 6 since the save started, 5 of these have come in the last 6 seasons showing they've recently become a dominant force. They're currently the richest side by a significant amount, with only Valarenga, Fredrikstad and Rosenborg coming anywhere near them. They (Brann) have increased their stadium by around 10,000 seats since the save game started and have been managed by former Valerenga manager Petter Myhre since 2022, after their former manager Espen Olafsen was given a chance to prove himself on a bigger stage, after making a name for himself at Brann. He now manages Udinese. The best Brann have done in Europe is reached the Group Stages of the Champions League, they've done that twice and finished bottom of their group on both occasions. They've also reached the group stage in the Europa League, on all 4 occasions they've failed to make it past that stage.

Odd have won 3 titles, Valerenga and Stabaek each have 2, and Sogndal and Sandefjord each have just the one. Odd have since been relegated to the First Division, as have Sogndal. The financial implications this meant make it seem unlikely that these two clubs will ever compete again for the title, unless they're taken over by a tycoon. Odd and Sogndal both failed to make it to the group stages in both European competitions during the time they actually competed in these competitions. Sandefjord also failed to make any group stage. Stabaek have reached the group stage of each European competition once, whereas Valerenga had the most successful campaign in Europe, reaching the first knockout round of the Europa League in 2017/18.

Norway were managed by Nils Johan Semb from 2011 to 2023 when Semb retired. He lead Norway to their only appearance at a big tournament since the game began, Euro 2016 where they failed to make it out of the group stages. Their current manager is former Tromsdalen, Sandefjord and Tottenham manager - Tore Rismo.

Scotland

For the first 13 years it was pretty much all Rangers/Celtic as per, bar a flukey Hearts title win in 2011/12. Celtic had 7 and Rangers had 5 title wins. However in the last two seasons Hibernian have proved a real threat, winning back to back titles which for a Scottish club that isn't part of the Old Firm is a major achievement.

Celtic are the richest club in the league by a decent amount, Rangers are second and then Hibernian third, interestingly Hibernian are closer to Rangers than Rangers are to Celtic in terms of finances. Hearts are the only other side in the SPL that have anywhere near as much money as these three clubs.

I'm not sure where it all went wrong for Hearts after their title win, they just didn't seem to be able to emulate the success again despite a new stadium, (presumably bought with some of the funds from the league win and subsequent appearance in the Champions League) creatively named 'Hearts Stadium' that fits 27,000. Current manager Billy Reid will have a tough job making Hearts compete for the SPL again during this save game.

It seems to be Gus MacPherson that is the mastermind behind Hibernian's recent success, joining Hibs in 2022 after succesful spells as manager at Dundee Utd, Motherwell and St Mirren. He replaced the retiring Alan Irvine. Can Gus keep Hibs at the top? It's not easy task with Celtic and Rangers to compete with.

Rangers have had an interesting array of managers over the years, after Walter Smith retired in 2011 they hired Avram Grant who after winning nothing was sacked in 2013. Dominic Kinnear was then hired but after only winning a League Cup was sacked in 2014. Ally McCoist had a short run as caretaker manager before Jimmy Calderwood was hired. Calderwood's by far been Ranger's most succesful manager, with 4 title wins and two Scottish Cup wins under his belt before retiring in 2021. Former Norwegian international and Manchester United player Ronny Johnsen was hired and currently has two Scottish Cup wins on his resume.

Celtic kept Tony Mowbray until he left for Manchester in 2014, Mowbray winning a Scottish Cup and two league titles. Stale Solbakken was hired and after emulating Mowbray exactly with two title's and a cup, he left for Turkey. Celtic then hired a Bhoy's legend, Henrik Larrsson. They didn't have the most succeseful 4 years during his time at the club, only one league win and two Scottish Cups before Larsson left to manage Frankfurt in Germany. Former Everton defender Joseph Yobo was hired, he lasted two seasons winning a Scottish Cup and a league title before leaving for Besiktas in 2022. That was when current manager and former player, Glenn Loovens was hired, in his two year spell he's currently won nothing.

Hearts reached the Group Stage of the Champions League in 2012 and made an appearance in the Group Stage of the Europa League in 2010/11, 2011/2012 and 2021/22. Hibernian have made the Group Stage of the Champions League in their past two appearances in the competition, with one Group Stage appearance in the Europa League also to their name. Rangers reached the first knockout round of the Champions League in 2015/16, with a few failed attempts to get out of the Group Stage in their history as well. They've had more success in the Europa League, with 4 appearances in the first knockout round and two quarter finals. Celtic have done the best, a quarter final appearance in the Champions League back in 2013/14. Since then they've reached the first knockout round on one occasion, aside from that just Group Stage appearances. They reached the Europa League semi final in 2015/16, with 5 first knockout round appearances also to their credit.

The Scottish national side were managed for many years by Craig Levein, he left in 2016 with a Four Associations Tournament win to his name. Gordon Strachan replaced him and also won the tournament, he retired in 2020 and was replaced by current manager, Everton legend, David Moyes. Scotland have over-achieved on the international scene so far in this save game, with two appearances at the Euro's, including a semi final in 2016 and one appearance at the World Cup, 2018, where they reached the quarter final.

What's the key to Benfica's success in Portugal then? Their finances are certainly helpful, their estimated value and turnover are more than double that of their nearest rivals which must be very useful in beating the competition. Very few of Benfica's squad is actually Portuguese, only 5 players in their squad are actually Portuguese, with the rest coming from primarily Mexico and Brazil with the odd Spaniard and Ukranian lying around. Over the years they've had a variety of managers, ranging from former South Korean international - Song Chong-Goog, former player and Portuguese international - Helder, and their current manager, the Belgian former Arsenal and Udinese defender Thomas Vermealen, who started his non-playing career as a youth coach at the very club he was then given the job of manager.

Perhaps a more interesting question, what have the likes of Sporting CP and Porto done wrong? Sporting CP have been well managed by Joao Paulo Andrade throughout the last decade, he just seems to have been unlucky to have been bettered by Benfica every time.

Porto seem to have got a bit trigger happy with sacking managers, since the start of the game the following managers have come and gone: Jesualdo Ferreira, Andre Villas Boas, Phillippe Bergeroo, Demar Phillips, Luis Campos, Joao Pinto, Ricardo Quaresma and since sacking Qauresma they've actually rehired Pinto. This really can't have helped the stability of the club and I believe the Porto board are to blame for their club's failure so far in this save game. Sack the board!

Benfica have been relatively successful in Europe, reaching a semi final and a quarter final in the Champions League as well as numerous knockout round appearances. They've also won the Europa League twice and made the knockout round of the competition every time they've been in it. Porto have made one Champions League quarter final, as well as the knockout round twice. Porto have made the quarter final of the Europa League once as well as winning it out-right. Sporting CP have made the Champions League knockout round on just one occasion. They generally get knocked out in the 2nd Knockout round of the Europa League having never made it further in the competition.

The Portugal National team has been managed by Jose Mourinho since 2022. Mourinho spent 8 years at Inter (having a decent time, with a Champions League win and a domestic double) before taking a 5 year hiatus, eventually going to Valencia for a year and achieving pretty much nothing there before leaving to manage his national team. He's done alright but perhaps not been as 'special' as some people would've liked.

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Holland

The league titles have been fairly evenly spread in Holland between the big two, PSV have 7, Ajax have 6 and smaller side AZ have 2. Ajax are slightly richer than PSV, both sides are significantly richer than their rivals with only Feyenoord and AZ coming anywhere near them. AZ have increased their stadium size from under 20,000 at the start of the game to their current stadium of 30,000 which has helped them financially.

PSV have also increased their stadium since the save game began and now have a stadium capacity of 54,000. PSV have had few managers come and go since the start of the save game, Foppe de Haan but retired in 2012, Gertjan Verbeek was subsequently hired and lasted for a decade bringing in many trophies and much success to the club. Former FC Utrecht player Sander Keller has been their manager for the last two seasons.

Ajax have also had few managers since the save game began, Martin Jol didn't last long as he was soon sacked and replaced by Hank Ten Cate in 2012, he lasted until he retired in 2018, his team was lead by captain Dirk Kuyt. Since 2021 much attention has been on Ajax due to their highly controversial manager, former player, Zlatan Ibrahimovic, his assistant is another Ajax alumni, former Greek international Angelos Charisteas.

AZ have reached the Champions League knockout round on just two occasions, that's also the furthest they've reached in the Europa League. PSV have made the knockout round of the Champions League four times, going out in the earlier stages every other time they've been in it. They've had slightly more success in the Europa League, reaching the semi final in 2018 and the knockout round five times. Ajax have only reached the knockout round of the Champions League once, the furthest they've got in the Europa League was a quarter final appearance in 2009/10.

After the sacking of Bert van Marwijk in 2014, Holland hired former Feyenoord player Nick Zofs, he was sacked in 2016 and replaced by Ramon Zormer, who is best known for his playing days at FC Twente. Ramon of course lead the Dutch side to their first ever World Cup and has gone down in Dutch football history as a true legend. He left after the triumphant win in 2022 and was replaced by another famous Dutchman - Marco Van Basten, who had achieved success at AC Milan, FC Bayern and Valencia.

In the more recent years, Turkey has been dominated by Galatasaray and Besiktas with the two sides sharing the last 6 titles, with 3 each. Before that saw surprise winners Bursaspor and titles shared by Besiktas, Galatasaray and Fenerbache. At the moment, Besiktas have 7, Galatasaray have 4, Fenerbache have 3 and Bursaspor have just the 1. Besiktas' significant amount of title wins has helped them rise to the second richest side in the country, with Galatasaray just ahead of them and Fenerbache just behind them. Aside from the big 3, Trabzonspor and Bursaspor are the only sides with anywhere near as much money as them but still have less than half their funds.

Ahmet Ozen was the mastermind behind Bursaspor's only title win in 2018, this coincided with stadium increases in the next two seasons, eventually rising to 27,500. He was sacked in 2021 and replaced by Galatasaray alumni and Turkish international Arda Turan.

Frank Rijkaard left Galatasaray in late 2010, eventually replaced by Luciano Chiarugi. Chiarugi won nothing for the club and retired in 2012, he was replaced with Guvenc Kurtar. Kurtar lead the club to a league win in 2014 before himself retiring. Johan Neeskens was hired but after only winning a Super Cup was sacked in 2016, Stale Solbakken being his successor. Solbakken won two Turkish Cup's and a Super Cup before leaving the club in late 2017, the Bulgarian Krasimir Balakov came in his place. Balakov is still managing Galatasaray and has lead the club to 4 Turkish Cups, 2 League wins and 3 Super Cup wins.

Besiktas sacked Mustafa Denizli in early 2010, replacing him with Hristo Stoichkov who soon lead them to a League win and a Super Cup win. He then left the club, with Krasimir Balakov being his replacement. Balakov left in 2013 having won nothing. Durmas Ali Colak joined the club and lead them to 5 league titles and a Super Cup. The stadium was also increased to 40,000 and the club were runners up in the Europa League. Soon after the club relocated to the 54,000 capacity, Besiktas Stadium in 2020, Colak left the club. Joseph Yobo was hired but after winning nothing was sacked in 20243. Tayfur Havutcu acted as caretaker manager for a month before the inexperienced former Italian international, Sebastian Giovinco was given his big managerial break having previously been a youth coach at the club.

Christopher Daum was manager of Fenerbache from the start of the game until his retirement in 2016, during this time he lead the side to an appearance in the Europa League final, as well as 3 League wins and a Turkish Cup. He was replaced by former Ukraine international Anatoliy Tymoschuk who is still manager now. Tymoschuk has lead the side to a Europa League final but aside from that and a win of the MLS All-Stars Cup in 2018, he hasn't won anything which makes his 8 year run at the club seem surprising considering how big Fenerbache are, especially within Turkey.

Bursaspor have never got further than the Group Stage in the Champions League, fairing slightly better in the Europa League having made the knockout round 6 times. Galatasaray have never got further than the Champions League Group Stage either, but they have 5 appearances in the knockout round of the Europa League. Besiktas have done better in the Champions League, haing made the first knockout round on 4 occasions. They've also made the final of the Europa League as well as a semi final and at least the knockout round every time they've been in the competition. Fenerbache have made the first knockout round of the Champions League 3 times, as well as two final appearances in the Europa League and a semi final as well.

Fatih Terim was the manager of the national side until his retirement in 2016. Nihat Kahveci took over and managed the side until leaving in 2022. He was replaced by Ahmet Ozen who still manages the side now. Turkey have made two appearances in the Euro's, going out in the Group Stage in 2020 and reaching the quarter final in 2024. They've also made 3 World Cup's, all 3 being the latest World Cup's, they've gone out at the Group Stage once, reached the Second Round once and in 2014 reached the quarter final.

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Russia

Russia has seen a relatively open 15 years, with Amkar, Zenit, Spartak Moscow, CSKA Moscow and FC Moscow all winning at least 1 title. Spartak Moscow have 7, CSKA and Zenit both have 3 and Amkar and FC Moscow both have one each. Despite Spartak's superior amount of title wins, Zenit are still significantly the richest side in the country, Spartak sit in second. Despite not winning a title since the beginning of the save game - Krylja Sovetov, Dinamo Moscow and Lokomotiv Moscow are all richer than Amkar, FC Moscow and Spartak Moscow.

Rashid Rakhimov shocked everyone by leading Amkar to a League win in the first season of the save game, he couldn't repeat this great achievement though and eventually left the club having won nothing else in 2014. Andrey Gordeev was brought in and the club saw a Russian Cup win under him, he was sakced in 2018 after years of dry spells and mid-table mediocrity. Aleksi Zhelyazkov was brought in and lasted 3 years winning nothing before leaving the club. In 2021, Ismail Ediev was sacked, he lasted just one season before facing the axe. Ex-Croatian international and Spurs defender Vedran Corluka was then hired and has managed the club ever since, he hasn't won anything just yet though.

FC Moscow sacked Miodrag Bozokovic in 2013 after some poor performances, he was replaced by Rashid Rakhimov who'd previously managed Amkar. Just 4 months later FC Moscow were relegated to the First Division. They bounced back, winning the First Division in their first attempt to return to the top flight. Rakhimov signed a 4 year contract but was sacked just a year later in June 2017. Sergey Ovchinnikov arrived at the club and 4 years later shockingly lead the side to a Premier Division win, since then they've reached the final of the Russian Cup.

CSKA Moscow sacked Leonid ****skiy in 2010 before hiring Kurban Berdyev. In 2012 they moved to the brand new CSKA-Peschanoye, which seats 35,000 people. In 2013 they won the Premier Division, however after two trophyless seasons, Kurban Berdyev faced the sack. Yury Krasnozhan was hired in 2015 and soon lead CSKA to a Premier Division win, he won his second title in 2017, he then won nothing for years before being sacked in 2023. Former Russian international Alexey Berzutskiy was subsequently hired as manager.

Spartak Moscow won the Premier Divison in 2011 under manager Valery Karpin, they then moved to their new stadium, 'Spartak' in 2012, the new stadium holding 42,000 fans. Karpin won another Premier Divison title but was sacked in 2013. Dan Petrescu was hired but only lasted a year before being sacked. Igor Kriushenko was brought in and over the course of 8 years won 4 Premier Divison titles as well as 2 Russian Cup's, he was sacked in 2022. Eygptian Emad Meteeb replaced him and in 2023 won a Premier Division title.

Zenit moved to the Gazprom-Arena in 2010, the new stadium being a 62,000 all seater. They won their first title of the save in 2011 under Luciano Spaletti. Spaletti was sacked in the next season and replaced by Leonid ****skiy. ****skiy didn't last long himself and his successor was Vitaly Kafanov. Kafanov won a few Russian Cup's but didn't win another title until he achieved back to back title wins in 2021 and 2022. After failing to achieve a third successive title he was sacked in 2023 and replaced with Yury Svirkov.

Amkar have been poor in Europe not reaching further than the Group Stage in either competition, the same applies to FC Moscow. CSKA Moscow have made the first knockout round of the Champions League on one occasion, doing better in the Europa League having made the second knockout round on 4 occasions. Spartak have never got out of the Champions League Group Stage either, but have reached the second knockout round twice. Zenit have made the first knockout round of the Champions League just the once, doing better in the Europa League with 3 appearances in the second knockout round. Overall not great performances in Europe from the Russian sides.

Guud Hiddink left the national team in 2012, being replaced by Stanislav Cherchesov. Cherchesov managed the side until leaving in 2020, eventually being replaced by Andrey Gordeev who still manages them now. Russia have been relatively successful in the World Cup's they've made it to, reaching the second round in 2014 and the quarter final in both 2010 and 2022. They've also made the quarter final in the Euro's in 2012 and 2020.

France has so far seen six different winners, Lyon currently have 6, Bordeaux have 4, Toulouse have 2 and Monaco, PSG and Marseille all have 1. Bordeaux have a ridiculous amount of money compared to the rest of the league, Marseille and Lyon are the only sides near them but are still around 80M behind them. PSG are 4th despite being considerably behind the other 3 sides, Toulouse follow closely behind PSG, wheras Monaco are nowhere near any of them lingering around 15th in terms of finances.

It's very much been a 'rise and fall' for Monaco, winning Ligue 1 in 2010 it looked like the start of good times for the side based in Monte Carlo. However Guy Lacombe was sacked in 2012 which seems to have kick started their bad patch. Guy Roux was hired but retired just 3 months later in June 2012, he was replaced by Christian Gourcuff. Gourcuff was sacked in 2016 after only winning the Couple de la Ligue. Laurent Guyot took over but was sacked himself in 2019 after poor performances and relegation battles. Claude Puel took over in 2019 and did relatively well for a few seasons before being sacked in 2024 as the side were sensationally relegated to Ligue 2. The man they've chosen to take them back to Ligue 1 is none other than former Inter, Man United and Arsenal's French international... Mikael Silvestre!

PSG sacked Antoine Kombouare in 2011, replacing him with Frederic Hantz. Hantz lead PSG to their only Ligue 1 title of the save game in in 2012, he won nothing more until 2015 when he lead the side to a French Cup win, they won the MLS-All Stars Cup in 2016 but Hantz was sacked in 2017. Luis Fernandez was brought in and in 5 years only delievered two French Cup finals so was sacked in 2022. Stephane Gilli was his replacement, though Gilli only lasted 8 months, getting the chop in November of 2022. Yves Bertucci acted as caretaker manager before Olivier Sorlin was hired, he lasted a year himself before being axed, Bertucci took over as caretaker manager again before current manager Laurent Fournier was hired.

Marseille sacked Didier Deschamps in 2011 due to some shocking performances that lead to a relegation battle, Arnaud Cormier was brought in but he couldn't save the side and in 2011 they were unbelievably relegated to Ligue 2. Cormier lead the side to promotion at the first attempt, the stadium was soon increased to a massive 70,000. Cormier was sascked in 2015 and replaced by Christophe Galtier, Galitier lasted just 8 months. Didier Olle-Nicolle was brought in as the replacement in 2015, he lasted just a year before being sacked himself, with Dudu Aouate being his replacement. Aouate eventually lead the side back to the top of French football, with a Ligue 1 win in 2022. He subsequently left the club and was replaced by Cedric Hengbart.

Toulouse sacked Alain Casanova in 2011, he was replaced by Jacques Santini. Santini lead the side to a French Cup win in 2014 before retiring, the stadium was also increased to 40,000 at this time. Guy Lacombe was hired and lead the club to their first Ligue 1 title of the save game and in history in 2017, he retired in 2018. Christian Gourcuff was brought in, he lasted just one season. Laurent Fournier was his successor and in 2020 lead the side to their second Ligue 1 title, he was sacked in 2022 after poor performances in the league. Former Marseille manager Dudu Aouate replaced him in 2022 and has managed the side ever since.

Bordeaux sacked Laurent Blanc in 2010, he was replaced by Jean Tigana. The source of Bordeaux's incredible finances are evident now, as in 2015, Martin Lukac took over the club in a tycoon takeover. The money clearly helped them as Tigana lead the side to a Europa League final and a Ligue 1 win in the next season. Tigana then lead the side to a French Cup win in 2017 with club captain and record scorer Marouane Chamakh lifting the trophy. Tigana left in 2018 having not won anything else, Frederic Antonetti was his replacement. Antonetti just two months later was celebrating as he lead the side to a Ligue 1 win. The club reached another Europa League final in 2020, before winning Ligue 1 again in 2021. After a poor start to the next season Antonetti was sacked in favour of Frederic Hantz, it was at this point that the side moved to the brand new Girondins Bordeaux Stadium, which built with tycoon money has a capacity of 45,000. Hantz lead Bordeaux to a domestic double in their first full season in the new satdium in 2023, he's since reached the French Cup final and signed a new contract.

Lyon sacked Claude Puel in 2011, replacing him with Faruk Hadzibegic. Hadzibegic lead the side to a Ligue 1 win in 2011, the next season saw a French Cup win, 2013 saw another Ligue 1 win and in December 2013 the side moved to Olympique Lyonnais Land, a new 60,000 stadium. Hadzibegic lead the side to yet another Ligue 1 win in 2014 and then another in 2015 before leaving the club in the same summer. Frederic Antonetti joined the club and after only winning a French Cup was sacked in late 2017. He was replaced by Frederic Hantz who won a domestic double in 2019, he left the side in 2021, his successor being Mehmed Bazdarevic. Bazdarevic sensationally reached the Champions League final in 2023 before winning Ligue 1 in 2014, he went out on a high, retiring after this win. Ex Arsenal and Lyon player Sylvain Wiltord was his replacement.

Monaco reached the semi final of the Champions League in 2010 but only made the Group Stages in 2015, on the two occasions they've qualifed for the Europa League they've failed to get out of the Group Stage. PSG have made the first knockout round of the Champions League twice, going out in the Group Stage on the other occasions. They reached the Europa League semi final in 2013, and have made the second knockout round on two occasions. Marseille have never got further than the Group Stage in the Champions League but have reached 3 quarter finals of the Europa League. Toulouse have made the knockout stage of the Champions League twice, having better success in the Europa League where they've reached two quarter finals and numerous knockout rounds. Bordeaux reached the semi final of the Champions League in 2023, but aside from that generally fall out in the first knockout round, having done so 4 times. They've got unlucky as they've reached the final of two Europa League's but ended runners up on both occasions. Lyon were the runners up of the Champions League in 2022, with the best they'd done before being two quarter final appearances. They don't generally end up in the Europa League but on the two occasions that they have, they reached the quarter finals.

Thierry Henry lifted the European Championship as captain in 2012 under manager Raymond Domenech. Domenech was sacked in 2014 and replaced with Jerome Rothen. Rothen lead France to a back to back European Championship win in 2016 with Mamadou Sakho his captain. They then went on to win the Confederations Cup in 2017 and reached the final of the 2018 World Cup, they were unlucky to lose. Jerome Rothen left his post as manager in 2020 after reaching another major final, finishing runner up at Euro 2020. Andre-Pierre Gignac was hired in 2020, he was pretty poor compared to those before him and was sacked in 2024. Loic Nestor was his replacement. France have done pretty well on the international stage, reaching the quarter final of the World Cup 3 times and the final in 2018. They've had more success in the Euro's, reaching 3 consecutive finals over the course of 2012-2020, winning the first two and narrowly losing the third. They only reached the Group Stage in 2024 which was there worst performance at a major tournament since the save began.

Germany has recently seen an improvement in the open-ness of the Bundesliga, with Schalke, Hoffenheim, Frankfurt and HSV all winning 1 of the last 4 titles. Before that none of those sides had won the league in the save game, which had primarily seen Bayern Munich dominate, with 7 of the 11 titles. Koln won two of them with Werder Bremen and Wolfsburg also getting one. That makes 8 different winners over the course of 15 seasons, which sounds pretty exciting compared to a few of the other leagues, namely the Portuguese and Spanish ones. Bayern are by far the richest side in the league, estimated to be worth just under 500M, they're the 4th richest side in the entire game. Schalke, Dortmund, Koln, HSV and Hoffenheim are all relatively equal but none of them are even half as rich as Bayern. Werder Bremen and Wolfsburg are quite poor compared to the rest of the sides who have won the league at some point over the save game.

Werder Bremen's demise can be explained quite easily. Thomas Schaaf lead the side to the Bundesliga in just the second season, things looked great for them, but in an unbelievable turn of events instead of retaining their title in the next season, they were relegated to the Second Division. Schaaf was consequently sacked. Gerd Schadlich was hired and lead Bremen back to the top tier of German football at the first attempt, the damage had been done though and Bremen were no longer competitive. Schadlich retired in 2016 after winning nothing, Jurgen Klopp was hired and in his first season took the side to a German Cup win. Klopp was sacked 6 months later and Norbert Meier replaced him. Meier lasted almost exactly a year, being sacked 4 days before Christmas in 2019. Klaas-Jan Huntelaar was given his big break and hired as manager and has been in charge of the club for the past 5 years, no silverware though.

Wolfsburg were runners up in the German Cup in the first season in the save, a decent achievement for manager Lorenz-Gunther Kostner. He was sacked just 5 months after this achievement though and got replaced by Lothar Matthaus. Matthaus proved to be a genius hiring as at the end of the 2011/2012 season, Wolfsburg were champions, narrowly missing out on a domestic double after another loss in the cup final. Matthaus failed to retain the title and left the club the next season. Krasimir Balakov was hired and lead the side to another German Cup final, it wasn't to be third time lucky though as Wolfsburg lost yet again. After a quiet few years Balakov was sacked in 2016, replaced by Ralf Rangnick. Rangnick lead the side to an MLS All-Stars victory in 2017 and in 2019 they finally won in a German Cup final. In 2019, Wolfsburg moved to the brand new 'Wolfsburg Stadium' capable of holding up to 40,000 fans. Rangnick was sacked in 2021, replaced by Achim Sarstedt, Sarsdetd failde to last the season and got replaced by Edmund Becker. Becker lasted just 5 months himself as he tired in June of 2022. Gerd Dais took over and saw Wolsburg miss out on another MLS-All Stars win as they finished runners up.

Koln sacked Zvonimir Soldo in late 2010 after a poor start to the domestic campaign, Matthias Samer replaced him and after many years of slow progress saw the side win the Bundesliga in the 2013/14 season. Samer saw his side win the title again in 2017/18, after two title wins and over ten years of service at the club, Koln sacked Sammer in 2022, replacing him with Ralf Rangnick. Rangnick retired just a year later and his successor was none other than giant Czech striker - Jan Koller. Koller lead Koln to the German Cup in the 2023/24 season.

HSV sacked Bruno Labbadia in December 2010, replacing him with Armin Veh. Veh didn't last long himself though, facing the axe 10 months later. Henning Berg replaced him, Berg was sacked in March of 2013, Mirko Slomka was his successor. Slomka was sacked in November of 2013, eventually replaced by Markus Babbel. Markus Babbel was sacked in 2015, Clarence Seedorf acted as caretaker manager before Felix Magath took over. Magath retired at the end of the 2015/16 season, so Joachim Low was hired. Jow lead HSV to the German Cup final of 2018/19. In 2019/20 they avenged their prior failure and won the German Cup. The cup win inspired Low's men as the next season HSV were Bundesliga Champions. Low retired in June of 2024 and was replaced by Uwe Rapolder.

Frankfurt manager Michael Skibbe didn't really do anything of note during his time as manager since the start of the save, until in 2014/15 when he lead the team to a German Cup win. He was sacked within 12 months though and replaced by Norbert Meier. Meier left the club a year later in 2017, being replaced by Uwe Rapolder. Rapolder was sacked in late 2020, replaced by the ex-Swedish international Henrik Larsson. Larsson strangely left the club in March of 2022, Tomas Galasek replaced him and just 2 months later HSV were champions.

Hoffenheim increased their stadium to 10,000 in 2011, manager Ralf Rangwick lead them to a German Cup win in 2012/13. He was sacked in December of 2013 though, Franco Baldini was briefly caretaker manager before big name Frank Rijkaard was hired. Rijkaard lead the side to a Europa League win in 2017/18, which also lead to a European Super Cup win in 2018. Rijkaard left the club a few days before the end of 2018, with Mario Carillo hired on New Year's Day. Carillo was sacked by November of 2019 though, being replaced by Lothar Matthaus. Matthaus lasted just over a year himself, being sacked late on in 2020. An interesting hiring saw none other than John Terry hired as manager. John Terry was sacked however in February of 2022 after not really achieving anything. Wael Gomaa was hired and he's done very well since being hired, he won the German Cup just 3 months into his reign and in his first full season he won Hoffenheim their first ever Bundesliga title. The side recently moved to their brand new stadium - 'Hoffenheim Stadium' a brand new 30,000 all seater stadium.

Felix Magath lead Schalke to the German Cup final in 2010/11, after a poor performance in the next season he was sacked in November, replaced by Klaus Toppmoller. Within 6 months Toppmoller had lead Schalke to a Europa League win, they were runners up in the Super Cup. Toppmoller retired in 2016, despite signing a 4 year contract extension just a year earlier. Thomas Niendorf was his replacement, in his first full season Niendorf lead Schalke to another Europa League final, this time they lost. Niendorf won the German Cup in the 2017/18 season but within 5 months was sacked. Jurgen Klopp took over and in the 2020/21 season lead Schalke to another Europa League final which this time saw them winners again, they were runners up in the subsequent Super Cup. Klopp was sacked in March of 2022, replaced by Henrik Larsson. Larsson lead Schalke to a Bundesliga win in the most recent season, can Larsson turn Schalke into a force to be reckoned with?

Louis Van Gaal lead Bayern to a Bundesliga win in the first season of the save, after a quiet few 2010/11 season, Bayern won the Europa League and German Cup in the 2011/12 season. Van Gaal signed a 4 year contract extension and in the 2012/13 season had an incredible campaign which saw a Super Cup win, a Champions League final and then the winning of the Bundesliga. Louis Van Gaal went out on an incredible high in 2013/14, winning the German Cup and the Champions League, Bayern's 5th win and the first Champions League win for a German side for 13 years. Marco Van Basted replaced his compatriot and in his first season won the European Super Cup, the Club World Championship and the Bundesliga. He retained the Bundesliga for the next two seasons before leaving the club in November of 2017. Andre Villas Boas was his successor, Villas Boas had to wait until the 2018/19 season for his first Bundesliga win. He subsequently retained the title and lead Bayern to another Champions League final in the 2019/20 season, they didn't win their Champions League though. Villas Boas has done well to avoid the sack, as Bayern, aside from a German Cup runners up spot in 2022/23, haven't won anything since the Bundesliga win in 2019/2020.

Bayern's impressive performances in the Champions League and Schalke's in the Europa League, have highlighted a relatively decent few seasons for German clubs in Europe. Bayern have reached 3 finals since the save game begin, as well as 3 Semi Final appearances, on top of that there is their Europa League win in 2011. Schalke have only ever reached the quarter final of the Champions League, but have made up for that with 3 finals in the Europa League, being successful in 2 of those. Koln made two knockout rounds in the Champions League, fairing considerably better in the Europa League with one semi final and two quarter finals. Hoffenheim have only appeared in two Champions League's, their best performance being a quarter final in 2023, they've done better in the Europa League with two semi finals and a win in 2017. Frankfurt have never made it past the group stage in the Champions League, not fairing much better in the Europa League with their best campaign seeing them reach the 2nd knockout round. HSV reached the Champions League quarter final in 2021, aside from that their only real success in Europe was a Europa League semi final in 2009. Wolfsburg made a quarter final in the Champions League in 2015, that's also the furthest they've made it in the Europa League. Werder Bremen's only Champions League campaign saw them out at the group stage, with their best attempt in the Europa League seeing them knocked out in the quarter final in 2017.

Italy, at least initially, looked like it was going to be dominated by Juventus. The Turin-based side won the first 3 Serie A's, they then went 3 seasons without winning, with Lazio, Genoa and Inter winning the title. Juve then won 2 again back to back, but nobody could have predicted what was to follow. AC Milan have 7 straight titles, something that's seen them become a force to be reckoned with in Europe once again, as well as the third richest club in the world. They're significantly richer than Juventus and Inter, Genoa and Lazio fall slightly behind with only Napoli Roma and Palermo being anywhere near those two, the rest of the clubs in the league are quite poor in comparison.

Gian Pero Gasperini lead Genoa to two Italian Cup finals in back to back succession in 2010/11, winning the latter. Genoa's ultras would be wanting their players shirts for different reasons in 2013/14, as they were Serie A champions. Gasperini oversaw the side win another Italian Cup in 2018, the next season saw a historic Champions League final appearance, but it wasn't to be as captain Mario Balotelli didn't lift the trophy for the side. Gasperini retired in 2021 and was replaced by Antonio Conte. Conte's since seen two Italian Cup finals and lost both.

After Edoardo Reja's retirement in 2011, Michael Laudrup was hired, sensationally only lasting 3 months before getting the axe. Hristo Stoichkov joined and in 2012/13 lead Lazio to only their third Serie A win, he left at the end of the season with Jorge Jesus being his successor. Jorge Jesus won an Italian Cup in 2016/17 but got sacked in 2018. Jean Tigana came in and lasted just 7 months. Ivo Iaconi came in but retired just 2 years later in 2020 after a dry spell. Italian hero Fabio Cannavaro took over, didn't achieve much and was sacked in 2023. Tito Vilanova has been managing them ever since.

Jose Mourinho, considered one of the best managers of all time, had an interesting reign at Inter. Overseeing a Europa League win in 2010/11, an Italian Cup win in 2011/12, a Champions League win in 2012/13 and a domestic double in 2014/15. 'The Special One' was sacked in 2016 and was interestingly replaced by none other than David Moyes. Moyes lasted only 2 years and was replaced by Jorge Jesus, who retired two years later in 2020, Serse Cosmi his successor. Cosmi retired himself in 2023 and Inter have been managed by Song Chong-Goog ever since.

Alberto Zaccheroni lead Juventus to 3 back to back title wins at the start of the save, achieving a Champions League win in 2011/12 to top all of this off. He achieved his first Italian Cup win in 2013/14, after a dry patch another Serie A was won in 2015/16, on that note Zaccheroni retired. Davide Ballardini was his replacement, he lead Juve to another Serie A win in 2016/17, an Italian Cup win in 2021/22 as well as a Champions League final in that same year, Ballardini was sacked within 24 hours of losing the Champions League final. Durmus Ali Colak was hired and has since seen Juve win a Champions League in 2022/23. Juve have also moved to the 59,000 seater - Del Piero Stadium.

AC Milan sacked Leonardo in 2009 after only winning an MLS-All Stars Cup. Marco Van Basted was hired and after only one Italian Cup final was subsequently sacked in 2014. Martin O'Neil was hired and soon after everyones favorite Italian, Silvio Berlusconi left the club and the British tycoon Paul Griffiths took over. O'Neil retired in 2017 after winning nothing, Javier Aguirre replaced him. Aguirre didn't impress Paul Griffiths, who sacked his manager within 5 months of hiring him, he replaced him with Martin Jol. Martin Jol, helped by the money that the tycoon brought to the club, oversaw 3 straight Serie A title, with the latter 2 also being domestic doubles before he retired in 2020. Pierluigi Casiraghi took over and he has since had incredible success, with 4 straight Serie A wins, 2 Italian Cup wins and 2 Champions League wins.

The Italians have obviously had a lot of success in Europe. Genoa have been runners up in the Champions League as well as making 4 semi finals, surprisingly the best they've done in the Europa League was a quarter final in 2021. Lazio have reached a quarter final in the Champions League as well as making two Europa League semi finals. Inter have won a Champions League and reached 3 semi's, as well as a Europa League win. Juventus have seen three Champions League finals, being succesful in 2 of them, so succesful have they been since the start of the save, that they haven't actually played in the Europa League. AC Milan have won 2 Champions League finals as well as a semi in 2018, they also reached two semi's in the Europa League.

Italy have seen a wide array of managers since the start of the save. After Marcello Lippi's sacking in 2010, Claudio Gentile was hired, he was sacked in 2012, replaced by Luciano Spalletti. Spalletti lasted a little longer being sacked in 2016, Gianfranco Zola was his successor but he only lasted a year, with another Chelsea alumni, Carlo Ancelotti taking over. Ancelotti only lasted a year himself, with Walter Mazzarri stepping up to the plate in the aftermath. Mazarri got thrown out in 2024, Daniele Capelli took over. Italy haven't really lived up to their reputation, failing to get out of the group stage in 2010, not qualifying for the 2014 World Cup, they only reached the quarter final in 2018 and then the second round in 2022. They've done better in the Euro's, reaching 3 straight quarter finals between 2012-2020 and then getting knocked out at just the group stage in 2024.

Aside from the Portuguese league, no other league as seen as much complete and utter domination as La Liga. The two traditional big sides - Barcelona and Real Madrid, have been utterly dominant in the last 15 years, with no other side winning a title. Barcelona currently have 10 and Real Madrid have 5 of them, showing that Barcelona have been considerably more dominant. Real Madrid remain the richest side in Spain, as well as the World, with Barcelona behind them by over £200M. The only sides anywhere near either of them are Valencia, Sevilla and Atletico Madrid, although they're still nowhere near the two sides.

Manuel Pellegrini did pretty decently at Real Madrid. In 2009/10 they reached the Champions League final, they avenged their loss by winning in 2010/11. They reached a third straight final in 2011/12, however they lost once again. Madrid did the domestic double in 2012/13. Another Champions League final in 2014/15, however they were unsuccesful once again, they did see a Spanish Cup win however. 2015/16 saw another Spanish Cup final however this one was lost. Pellegrini lead Madrid back to the Champions League final in 2016/17, yet once again lost, the board finally had enough of him and sacked him within 24 hours of losing. Jesus Ramirez took over and in his first full season won La Liga, the next season he very nearly did the treble as Madrid won the Champions League and La Liga, ending up as runners up in the Spanish Cup. In 2019/20, Madrid saw a Champions League win as well as the Spanish Cup. In 2020/21, Madrid did another double as they won La Liga and the Champions League. Ramirez retired at the end of the season and was replaced by Faruk Hadzibegic, after only winning the Club World Championship he retired himself within a season. Gonzalo Arconada was hired and in his first full season he did the domestic double winning La Liga and the Spanish Cup.

Guardiola is one of few managers that has kept his job since the start of the save, perhaps that's a good foreshadow of what Barcelona have achieved in the save. Guardiola has over seen 5 Spanish Cup wins, 2 Champions League wins and of course a sensational 10 La Liga wins. Their success was no doubt partly down to Lionel Messi, who after 216 goals in La Liga for them became the record goalscorer at the club. After the domestic success, several Champions League wins as well as a World Cup win in 2010 and numerous Fifa Player of the Year awards few could argue that Messi is the greatest player of all time.

The Spanish national side has been something of a let down, the golden generation failed to live up to expectations and only in more recent years has Spain seen some success. A World Cup win in 2018 after previously only making it to the second round was topped off in 2022 with third place. The Euros has seen 2 semi final finishes, a quarter final and the awful 2016 campaign that saw Spain out at the group stage. A Confederations Cup win in 2021 the highlight of the 20's so far. Quique Flores is currently in charge, with previous managers including the likes of: Michel, Ernesto Valverde and of course Vincente Del Bosque.